Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Yesterday I mentioned a sub two hour marathon almost being accomplished. I didn't realize it was a stunt by Nike giving someone every possible advantage to pull it off.  (It was on a specialized track with a pace car.)
• Some of the Dallas Cowboys took part in a home run competition in Frisco yesterday for charity. Dez Bryant missed the competition because he went to the Ballpark in Arlington. 
• The older lady being body slammed and thrown in to the pool in Florida after complaining about the noise at a party is hard to watch.
• The championship winning Desoto football coach kept his job last night but the proceedings were a little wheels off. It was reported that he requested any discussions about him by the school board take place in public which prevented them from discussing him in executive session. I'm not sure I knew that rule.
• And is there any question that the Texas Open Meeting law is violated every day?  Some city councils, commissioners, and school board members talk about the upcoming agenda all the time, right? 
• I'm not sure what David Spade was doing with the Cash Me Outside girl (and I'm not going to take the time to find out.)
  
• I keep waiting for the Texas housing market to crash -- and it will happen -- but this increase in prices over the last handful of years is unlike anything I've ever seen. 
• Fox 4 had a story of someone finding a dinosaur tracks in Springtown. Everyone was touching and rubbing them which seemed weird. 
  
• Balch Springs police officer Roy Abbott Oliver turned himself over the weekend on a murder warrant, and his book-in photo looks like he has had some sleepless nights. And I bet he has. 
  
• The Sally Yates testimony was action packed yesterday, and it was not a good day for the White House. On the evening shows, CNN, MSNBC and even the BBC led with it. Fox News led with Obama's speech from the weekend. 
• And the testimony freaked Trump out. He fired off seven tweets mentioning Yates and Russia, and even changed his Twitter banner (and then changed it back in the middle of the night.)
• I don't like it when we have a visiting judge because you never know what to expect. I don't know how criminal defense lawyers practice in unfamiliar courts. Knowing the ropes is more than half the battle. 

And Nice Exit

Guy crashes his car and awkwardly drives away from a car show from cringe

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The family of the girl murdered by the stalker at North Lake College wants the entire school  renamed to "Janeera Gonzalez College" in memory of her.  That's a bit much. 
• Good to see that Trump endorsed and pseudo-Nazi Marine Le Pen get crushed in the France presidential election. 
• Saw an ad in the Messenger this week asking "Want to make six figures?" It was for a "Flag [auto] technician." What is that? 
• Trump this weekend: 
  
  
  
  
• I'm not sure what possessed me to mention  Baylor receiver K.D. Cannon last week who went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the 49ers.  This weekend, he was cut after a mini-camp. That's unheard of. 
• We almost had a sub two hour marathon this weekend. A guy missed it by 26 seconds.
• I fell asleep in a hammock this weekend. Then I fell out of it. That'll wake you up. 
• According to Monster.com, Granbury is at full employment: 
  
• "Jury awards woman a record-setting $110.5M in lawsuit alleging using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused cancer." Puuuuleeeze.
• Mrs. LL this weekend, "Stop planting stuff!"  Me: "I'm a landscaping genius." Her: "No you're not."
• Angry Pete Delkus from last year: 
  
• Freaky judge:
  
• Alvord ISD's bond proposal was rejected by a 404-116 margin. That is one big defeat.
• There was a bit of a controversy about local EMS purchasing ATV's (now on hold, by the way), but someone asked me about his belief that Runaway Bay PD bought a couple of wave runners for Lake Bridgeport several years ago.

Above The Fold

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.

That positioning as he's headed into the water sells this one. 

Don't worry, kid. You'll get the hang of it when you're older.

I was wrong. 

 A dumpster and a catapult!

Cliff Notes: Marriage, divorce, and remarriage.

Doggie Sleeper Cell! And a cocky one at that. 

I Don't Care About The NBA . . .

Steph Curry had Rudy Gobert dancing... 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bVtp8A7e5W

— TotalProSports (@TotalProSports) May 5, 2017

. . . but I like comedy.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• We might need some news coverage of what is going on in Venezuela:

• It was a dog and pony show yesterday in the House for Repeal and Replace, and I've never seen the Republicans go off so half-cocked on a bill. The Senate might just scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. And they are in no hurry. 

  

  Not an Old White Man Convention

• Decatur's water this morning is a light shade of brown. 
• As pointed out by several commentors yesterday, UT's Police Department has no proof that the Stabber was stopped by a concealed handgun license holder. Now that was truly fake news.
• One or more persons who serve on the Wise County Crime Stoppers committee invited me in the comments to come to their meetings. I don't want to. But you obviously have all the information about the fund. so tell us all: (1) How much money is in the account, (2) How much has it paid out over, say, the last five years, and (3) What is the audit process.
• The Dallas Morning News predicted Baylor will go 8-4 this fall. I suspect 6-6 is more likely. And I'll take it.  
• Trophy Club apartments yesterday off of 114: 
  
• ISIS is suggesting those sympathetic to their cause in America to use gun shows for easy access to weapons.  They've got that right. 
• "In November 2016, a clip from an episode of the 1950s western television series Trackdown was published to YouTube, along with the claim that it 'predicted Donald Trump' by featuring a snake oil salesman character named 'Trump' who claimed that only he could prevent the end of the world … by building a wall around the town." It really is funny. They refer to him as Mr. Trump and at one point Trump threatens to sue. 
• "And Another" from Indiana: 
• 
• Every time I hear about Mayfest I think about the 1995 hail storm which almost killed people. 
• Flashback in honor of Cinco De Mayo:

  

  He really said, "I love Hispanics!" while eating a Taco Bowl.

• Background anyone?:
  
• The Balch Springs cop who killed the black teenager was once suspended two days for his interaction with prosecutors and his courtroom testimony in a DWI case where he said on the stand, "I don't understand the f---ing question." Let me tell you, we have a full blown psycho with a God Complex on our hands.

No Violence But This Is A Little Crazy

If I understand this right, the guy is with his family and had purchased a ticket for his son. But then they decide to send the son on an earlier flight in order to free up the seat so they could put a car seat in it for their two year old.  (Some people just hold an infant in their laps.)  But Delta had overbooked the flight, and wanted to use that seat for someone else.  The guy says no because he paid for the seat.

It gets weird because the flight attendants say everything from (paraphrasing) "the two year old can't be in the seat because the seat must match the passenger manifest" to "you aren't allowed to have a two year old in a car seat."

So how did this get resolved? Give the family the option to just hold the two year old? Nope.  Delta kicked the whole family off the plane. And we have the extra bonus of, " “You and your wife will be in jail and your kids will be in foster care” along the way if they didn't comply.

Story.

The Rare Baseball Trick Play

ICYMI: @LucasErceg17 pulled off a good ol' hidden ball trick today vs. Buies Creek. #MudcatsFUN pic.twitter.com/nKisChC1TY

— Carolina Mudcats (@CarolinaMudcats) May 3, 2017

What's the rule on this? I think it has something to do with the pitcher.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Former UT coach Charlie Strong got berated by a judge in open court. She is 100% out of line: “Let’s just say my USF diploma is not proudly hanging in my office right now. And I have a message for your coach as well. Coach Strong, if you are listening, in the last couple of months there have been two arrests of your players — very violent felonies. This court, and I’m sure I’m not alone, questions whether you have control over your players. It’s fairly clear that you do not have control over them off the field and I guess only time will tell whether you have control over them on the field. I would implore you to think long and hard about whether being head coach at USF is a good fit for you before any other members of this community have to suffer at the hands of one of your players.”
• 
• There was a high profile case out of Fort Worth a couple of years back where a mortuary never cremated some bodies as promised. For some reason the State charged the owner with theft, and the Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed the conviction. Texas's highest criminal court announced yesterday that it will review that decision.  Edit: Fort Worth reversed it because the State only proved a breach of contract which is not a crime. 
• Did you know that Texas keeps a database of every time you fill a prescription and your history can be obtained by a police officer just by asking? Between January 1, 2014, to March 10, 2017, police made 5,287 requests and 97% of them were granted.
• I've said it for years: Every person on probation in Wise County contributes $50 to Wise County Crime Stoppers, and I never hear of it paying out a dime. Who is in control of it, and how much is in that account? Is there any auditing?
  
• "DALLAS (AP) — Investigators say an Austin police officer who allegedly tried to fake his own death and flee to Mexico has been arrested at a Texas airport."
  
• There will be a vote in the House today on Repeal and Replace today, and the proposed bill is far from conservative. And that's why there is a 100% chance the Senate will kill it. Today is just a dog and pony show. 
• And the text of the bill hasn't been released - in fact it wasn't even finished late last night. Need I remind you of the Republican's 2010 "Pledge to America" which included: 
  
• FBI Director Comey is crazy. 
• What a bloody week. Yesterday we added to it with a murder/suicide at Northlake College in Irving and a double death at an Arlington sports bar.  When I heard about these two, I actually intended to write today why a concealed carry guy hasn't come to the defense in any of these cases. Well, it looks like that is what happened in Arlington. That rarely happens. In fact, I'm not sure I can think of another case in Texas.
• Romo got hit in the Arlington shooting: 
  
• Mark Davis said on Fox 4 this morning that activists might not get a murder charge in the Balch Springs case because murder requires "premeditation." Not true at all. 
• Things are going well at UT: 
  
• How would you rank your list if you had to give up one or more of Facebook, Google, Amazon, or Apple. I think that's easy: (1) Facebook, (2) Amazon, (3) Apple, then (4) Google.

From Yesterday: No Deaths. No Injuries.

Watch the moment a plane clips power lines and a street light, making a fiery crash landing https://t.co/NQLp4qjDLP pic.twitter.com/LbkKz1f8bL

— CNN (@CNN) May 3, 2017

Above The Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Alabama's coach Nick Saban got an eight year, $65 million extension yesterday and, with a bonus, will make over $11 million this season.  Remember that he's a public employee. (More shocking may be their outside linebacker's coach will make $950,000.)
• Alabama (the state) ranks 4th worse in the nation in unemployment, 4th worse in high school graduation, and 5th worse in per capita income.
• I don't know much about the Heritage Foundation (other than the insufferable Jim Carafano who comes on WBAP once a week) but they fired its leader yesterday. The running narrative is that the organization turned from a legitimate think tank to a partisan hack group. 
• That Graham High graduate who was stabbed to death on the UT campus sounded like a good kid.
  
  
• I'm finally into Season Four of Game of Thrones. Man, they will kill anyone on that show. 
• Random restaurant thought: I miss the chain Tia's.
• Random Decatur restaurant thought: I miss Garcia's.
• If you are for insurance covering pre-existing conditions, does that mean you support the foundation of Obamacare? That's what the Republicans are dealing with.
• It's May 3rd and I'm calling it: The Texas Rangers are done, brother. And get ready for a Yu Darvish trade by mid-summer.
• Here's Pete Delkus' official forecast: 
  
• Here's the fired Balch Springs offer who shot the kid with an AR-15 (credit KXAS.)
  
• From the Update: "Devon Energy Corporation announced Tuesday that it plans to sell $1 billion in assets – including some in the Barnett Shale natural gas fields . . . . " That doesn't sound good for Wise County. 

Guy Surrenders In Haslet

That's a lot of cops.  He surrendered peacefully after running into someone else's home because he thinks police are out to get him. (I hope he didn't look out the window.)

Story.

Flying Has Taken A Turn For The Worse

Story.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Once the bodycam footage of the Balch Springs police officer who shot and killed the 15 year old comes out, we are going to have a huge national story on our hands. It has all the elements: (1) minority victim, (2) teenage victim, (3) shot in the head (4) unarmed, (5) cop initially lies about what happened, (6) unjustifiable shooting in that the car was going away from the officer, and (7) the cop decided to use a rifle.
• I called it Groundhog Day last week but we truly do live in a Groundhog Week: Cop shooting, motorcycle death (this one at 287 and the road to Newark in a bizarre wreck), and the Rangers can't hit. 
• A woman was gunned down in her car in the Ridgmar Mall parking lot yesterday afternoon but other than it being "domestic related", we know hardly nothing. 
• Hey, Baylor, stop being stupid: 
  
• Someone commented yesterday the Baylor football will be "as bad as they've ever been" this fall. Buddy, you have no idea how bad Baylor used to be. 
• Autistic Bridgeport boy "connects with law enforcement worldwide."
• I was at the Denton County courthouse at 12:30 yesterday, and saw no evidence this happened. (He had just met with the DA's office.):
  
• I'm reading so much about how the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why might be  dangerous for teenagers to watch and many are apparently doing so. Denton and Krum schools sent letters home about it. 
• Twelve hours later, Trump realizes he made a mistake. And then tries to do damage control. Poorly: 
  
• Alabama softball player homers against Ole Miss. Misses home plate during the celebration. Gets tagged out after a slight delay. 

Shooting In Dallas

STATEMENT from Dallas Fire Rescue on its firefighter who was shot. pic.twitter.com/bdm4s7xWaJ

— Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) May 1, 2017

KRLD reported he had died citing "sources" at around `1:30 p.m. CBS 11 reported he had died as well.

Edit: In unrelated craziness, we have a situation at UT. One dead. Three injured. Arrest made.:

They Are Doing It Wrong

LIVE: Protesters say they won't leave unless @GregAbbott_TX refuses to sign a bill that'd ban "sanctuary" policies. https://t.co/79AeyQCUMD pic.twitter.com/i4bnVa7k7R

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 1, 2017

Uh, the bill automatically become law in 10 days if he doesn't sign it.